April 5th, 2021, Houghton, MI – SightLine is being acknowledged as one of the 2021 awardees for the SmartZone Best Small Business award, presented by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. SightLine will be honored at the 17th annual Michigan Celebrates Small Businesses gala event on Tuesday, July 20.
SightLine is a growing analytics company providing targeted, easy to interpret predictive analytics and market intelligence solutions for colleges and universities. SightLine empowers higher education institutions to better understand the data they already have without complicated software installations and training. Using data science and SightLine’s propriety algorithms combined with customized research-backed interventions, the team provides on average a 15X return on investment for clients.
“The past year has been pivotal for SightLine. When the pandemic hit, I had just hired Erin Thompson as our COO and had significant goals for the year,” said Ashley Kern, Founder and CEO of SightLine. “The pandemic created a lot of uncertainty in our industry of higher education but it allowed us to be flexible and develop a new product and revise our customer engagement process. Our team has now doubled in size. This has set us up to accelerate our growth through 2021 and we cannot wait to keep working hard and see what is next for SightLine.”
SmartZones provide distinct geographical locations where technology-based firms, entrepreneurs and researchers locate in close proximity to all of the community assets that assist in their endeavors. SmartZone technology clusters promote resource collaborations between universities, industry, research organizations, government and other community institutions, growing technology-based businesses and jobs. New and emerging businesses in SmartZone technology clusters are primarily focused on commercializing ideas, patents and other opportunities surrounding corporate, university or private research institute R&D efforts.
Michigan’s SmartZones include technology business accelerators that provide services and partner with tech transfer offices, facilitate the commercialization of technology emerging from research in Michigan universities and private companies.
There are over twenty SmartZones across Michigan. Each SmartZones selects a business they have worked with that has leveraged services to advance the growth of tech focused businesses. The businesses selected have demonstrated growth through technology commercialization, success with innovation and strength of the relationship with the SmartZone.
“Small businesses create significant economic impact in communities all across Michigan”, said Josh Hundt, Chief Business Development Officer and Executive Vice President at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. “We are excited to acknowledge and celebrate more than 80 small businesses this year who have been selected by their peers, communities and small business support organizations and demonstrate the resiliency and impact of Michigan small businesses.”
Michigan Celebrates Small Business hopes to celebrate small business success in-person at the Breslin Center in East Lansing on July 20. At this time MCSB is planning for a hybrid approach to the celebration, offering a virtual and in-person experience. If an in-person gala is permitted, MCSB will comply with CDC, state and Michigan State University guidelines.
About Sightline
SightLine is a female-founded, female-operated business dedicated to empowering universities to help students succeed using predictive analytics. Our data science experts have developed and proven to inform strategies that have measurable impact on student outcomes, from recruitment all the way through graduation. We are proud to be the only provider in the market using advanced machine learning to craft customized solutions for each individual institution without deploying software- no out-of-the-box software or cookie-cutter solutions here.
Information about SightLine can be found at www.SightLineData.com
About Michigan Celebrates Small Businesses
Michigan Celebrates Small Businesses is a non-profit (501c3) organization that is composed of statewide founding organizations that provide small businesses with resources to help their company grow. MCSB has Since 2005, their awards gala has celebrated and honored the impact small businesses have on our communities and state. MCSB makes small businesses their priority and will continue to support, connect, and celebrate small businesses in Michigan.
Michigan Celebrates Small Business is a partnership of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Edward Lowe Foundation, Small Business Association of Michigan, U.S. Small Business Administration, Michigan Business Network and the Michigan Small Business Development Center.
Kinexus Group is the Managing Partner of 2021 Michigan Celebrates Small Business gala.
Information about Michigan Celebrates Small Business can be found at www.MichiganCelebrates.org
About MTEC SmartZone
Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (MTEC) is one of 21 SmartZone Incubators in the State of Michigan. MTEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), its mission is to facilitate the creation and ongoing success of high-tech value propositions in conjunction with the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Since 2003, the MTEC SmartZone has provided mentoring, technical support, and other services to local companies that have led to the creation of over 800 high-tech jobs in the Houghton and Hancock Michigan area. For more on MTEC SmartZone, visit https://www.mtecsz.com/
Contact Information:
Erin Thompson, SightLine COO
info@sightlinedata.com
262-422-6060
